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A&S in the News: January 21-27, 2018

Posted on: January 29th, 2018

Performing Arts Center

Campus sees progress for the performing arts: Crimson White – Jan. 21

The University of Alabama is in the final stage of planning a $60 million state-of-the-art performing arts center for the Department of Theatre and Dance. The Department of Theatre and Dance currently performs and rehearses in Rowand-Johnson Hall. The building holds a lot of the department’s history, but students have said they are ready for the change.

Women’s March

Tabitha Isner has never run for elected office before. She’s a 36-year-old ordained minister whose spent most of her career in policy work, focusing on early childhood education. But after learning the ropes of preparing for an election, Isner now says the timing seems perfect to take a shot at Congress … William Stewart, a professor emeritus of political science at The University of Alabama and a longtime observer of state politics, said he believes the large number of women who rejected Moore’s candidacy had more to do with the allegations against the candidate than anything else.

Gender Bias

New study reveals perceived gender bias against women is dominant factor in college major choice for females: Public Now – Jan. 22

College-bound women are not less likely to enter specific fields because more math or science is required, but rather because of the gender discrimination they are likely to encounter in those fields, finds a new nationally representative longitudinal study published in the American Educational Research Journal … In addition to Cimpian, the study’s co-authors include Colleen M. Ganley of Florida State University, Casey E. George of the University of Louisville, and Martha B. Makowski of the University of Alabama. The study is based on work supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education (Grant No. R305B100017) and the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation.EurekAlert – Jan. 22

Tsunami Threat

A tsunami threat was issued for the West Coast earlier today after a 7.9 earthquake in the ocean near Alaska. While the earthquake was major, it’s not unusual for that area. The Pacific Coast is known for earthquakes because it’s a subduction zone interface. In other words, the Pacific Oceanic Plate is diving beneath the North American Plate. The result of those two plates grinding against each other causes a lot of earthquakes, but UA Geology professor Samantha Hansen says this one was a little different.

Betty Boop

Betty Boop, an iconic animated character created in the 1930s, will be the subject of a Thursday multimedia lecture on The University of Alabama campus. Gregory Clark, an art history professor at Sewanee University, will present “Max and Dave Fleischer’s Betty Boop: A ’20s Flapper Marooned in the Depression-Era ’30s.” The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be at 5 p.m. in Room 205 at Smith Hall.

New Music Series

On Thursday February 22, 2018, 2018 at 7:30PM, the Soundwaves new music series at the Santa Monica Public Library welcomes saxophonist and composer Andrew Raffo Dewar to the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium at the Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd … Currently faculty at The University of Alabama, Dewar has studied and performed with Anthony Braxton, Andrea Centazzo, Bill Dixon, Steve Lacy, and Alvin Lucier, among other major composers and improvisers, and has published widely on experimental music.

U.S.-Japanese Relations

Brian Woodall, a professor of political science specializing in Japanese studies from the Georgia Institute of Technology, addressed questions about economic, social and militaristic changes with U.S.-Japanese relations under the Trump administration at a public lecture Tuesday. Many countries worried how President Donald Trump’s campaign promises would translate to policy with foreign nations for the United States upon his inauguration. Woodall said though Trump’s campaign promises worried Japan, relations between the United States and Japan have continued with little conflict.

Bradley Byrne

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne says he stands by his criticism of Sen. Doug Jones in a video he posted on Facebook Friday, hours before the Alabama Democrat voted to support the Republican budget plan … Said William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at The University of Alabama and a longtime observer of Alabama politics: “I really think that Byrne is trying to position himself to run against Jones in 2020.”

Book Drive

For years, students in the Black Belt region of Alabama have suffered from a lack of books on the shelves of their libraries. The Books for the Black Belt campaign seeks to bring an end to this literary drought. The project, managed by the UA Center for Economic Development, is gathering books for underprivileged children and communities within the Black Belt, a region of 13, typically poorer, Alabama counties. Throughout the month of February, those involved with the project will gather books to further the initiative. “The book project is an excellent way for UA to give back to the under-served communities within the Black Belt region,” said Nisa Miranda, the director of the program.

American Environmentalism

On March 28, Ellen Griffith Spears presents “Writing Histories of Environmentalism in the U.S. South.” Building on histories of environmental activism in the region, Spears’s talk explores the challenges facing American environmentalism in 2017. Spears is an associate professor in the interdisciplinary New College and the Department of American Studies at the University of Alabama. Her research is broadly interdisciplinary, combining environmental and civil rights history with studies of science, technology and public health. Her book, “Baptized in PCBs: Race, Pollution, and Justice in an All-American Town,” published in 2014 by the University of North Carolina Press, explores key questions faced by communities that seek to address systemic class and race inequalities and to tackle toxic pollution.